Former Sleman Regent Faces 8.5-Year Prison Sentence in Corruption Case
Former Sleman Regent Sri Purnomo faced a prosecution hearing on corruption charges related to allegedly misappropriating tourism grant funds for Sleman Regency. The Public Prosecutor’s Office (JPU) sought an 8-year 6-month prison sentence during the hearing held at Yogyakarta District Court (PN Jogja) on Friday, 13 March 2026. The session, initially scheduled for 09:00 WIB, was delayed until 13:00 WIB due to document completion issues.
In the prosecution, JPU prosecutors Kusuma Eka Mahendra Rahardjo and Rindi Atmoko stated that Sri Purnomo was not proven to have committed corruption as charged under the primary indictment (Article 2 Paragraph 1 together with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 on Corruption Eradication as amended by Law No. 20 of 2001, read together with Article 55 Paragraph 1 First Clause of the Criminal Code).
However, prosecutors found Sri Purnomo guilty under the secondary indictment. The JPU requested the court impose an 8-year 6-month prison sentence and a fine of 500 million rupiah, with an additional three months’ imprisonment if the fine remained unpaid.
Beyond the prison sentence and fine, prosecutors also demanded that Sri Purnomo pay state loss restitution of 10.952 billion rupiah, equivalent to the total state losses in the case. Should Purnomo fail to pay within one month of the court’s final ruling, his assets would be seized and auctioned to cover the restitution. If Purnomo lacked sufficient assets, prosecutors requested an additional 4-year 3-month prison sentence.
Following the hearing, Purnomo’s defence counsel, Soepriyadi, disputed the restitution demand. He argued that restitution is only applicable when the defendant personally benefited from state funds. Soepriyadi emphasised that Purnomo never enjoyed any part of the grant funds and questioned the legal basis for such a demand. He announced that the defence team would prepare a response brief (pleidoi) scheduled for 27 March to contest all prosecutors’ allegations.
According to the prosecution indictment, Sri Purnomo is alleged to have diverted the 2020 Tourism Grant Funds for Sleman Regency toward campaign financing for the then-regent candidates Kustini and Danang Maharsa during the 2020 regent election.
The prosecution explained that in 2020, the central government allocated 68.518 billion rupiah in tourism grant funds to provincial governments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, following the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy Regulation No. KM/704/PL.07.02/M-K/2020 of 9 October 2020. The regulation stipulated that grant funds be distributed with 70 per cent allocated as direct assistance to hotel and restaurant businesses and 30 per cent for local government use in addressing the economic and social impacts of COVID-19, particularly in the tourism sector.
As regent of Sleman from 2016 to 2021 and recipient of the 2020 tourism grant for Sleman Regency, Sri Purnomo issued Sleman Regent Regulation No. 49 of 2020 on Tourism Grant Distribution Guidelines, dated 27 November 2020. This regulation allocated 70 per cent of grant funds to hotel and restaurant operators and 30 per cent to tourism sector community groups. However, before issuing this regulation, around August-September 2020, Sri Purnomo allegedly conveyed a message to Kuswanto, who served as Chair of the Sleman PDIP District Party Committee in 2020. According to prosecutors, Purnomo indicated that the central ministry’s unused tourism grant funds could be utilised for campaign victory purposes. Kuswanto subsequently convened PDIP district officials and relayed Purnomo’s message regarding the potential use of Sleman Regency’s 2020 tourism grant funds for the regent and deputy regent candidates’ campaign.